Where have you been?

"Rodeo Drive - where the stars shop." Sure why not? We didn't stop but rather just drove very slowly. It was probably a good thing too because there were many, many expensive cars about (see the Lamborghini to the left?) - a slight fender bender would probably set you back about $100K!


We have a video of Rodeo Drive too so after I come back from our wedding I will try and get both of them (Rodeo and Mulholand Drives) posted.

From Hollywood we drove along Mulholland Drive across to Brendwood, Beverly Hills, and eventually Rodeo Drive. Mulholland is a fantastically curvy road and while the surface at place sucks it is a blast to drive along. I have a short video but I am not entirely sure how to post it. Some day...

Along Mulholland at various places you can see the San Fernando Valley. Know as "the Valley" it is famous for being the home for the Porn industry. According to HBO approximately 90% of porn is either made there or by companies based there.

Dispite America's love affair with the automobile (LA's especially) there have been attempts to make LA a public transportation city. Here you can see a schematic of the commuter train system. If you live along one of the train routes then I am sure it is supper convenient. Unfortunately enough people cling to their cars (like others cling to their gods and guns) and the system's overall development has been slow. People are more interested in building more Diamond lanes (lanes on freeways which are reserved for cars with more than one person in them) than a functional bus/train system. Someday, when petrol cost about twenty dollars a gallon, people might get interested...

Another "site" is the famous Hollywood sign. Only problem is that you can't actually go up to see it. Too many people jumped off of it in the past or something so it has been fenced off. But there is a nice, new mall right on Holly Blvd. that has a great view (where these photos are taken from).


Here is a conversation I have with most of my non-LA friends when they visit me:
"Where is the Hollywood sign?"
"Well, Hollywood is 30 miles north of Torrance, you can't see it from here."
"Really, I though you could see the Hollywood sign from everywhere in southern California."
"Not exactly."


As we can see from this picture it's even somewhat difficult to see it from Hollywood. And lets not mention the hazy days in Los Angeles when you can't even see the mountains!

Naturally a big draw to Hollywood is the Walk of Fame. Much like the other sites, however, after looking at the ground for a few minutes it gets sort of old.


My recommendation is to figure out the location of some stars you are intersted in and sort of go on a treasure hunt. That would make it a bit more interesting for a bit longer. Use a tool like this one to find the address and away you go.


We didn't plan anything but rather just walked around. Our favorites included Nicolas Cage, Michael Jackson, and Chevy Chase.


One of my all time favorites happens to be the famous Polish-American actor, Ted Knight. He was born Tadeusz Władysław Konopka to a Polish family in Connecticut. He is most famous for his acting on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and as Henry Rush on Too Close for Comfort by I love him for his role of Judge Smails in the cult classic Caddyshack. Chevy Chase is also in it as well. He plays Ty Webb. I love that movie!

Even Snoopy is popular in Hollywood! Notice the cheap souvenirs in the shop.


A banner for the Polish Film Festival along with the Wax Museum and El Capitan Theatre, both important historic sites, in the background.


Me standing on Hollywood Boulevard with Mel's Diner in the background. Hollywood and Vine are just up the street to the right (my left).


Seeing Mel's Diner motivated us to eat classic so we decided to eat lunch in a "real" 50's diner. Johnny Rocket's is an international chain but it still keeps (mostly) to the theme. Good burgers and cherry Coke. Yummy. My fiancee' tried her first chili cheese fries that day.


We also saw a stretched Chrysler 300M. Very nice.

And the wannabes.


I wasn't kidding.

Marilyn Monroe


Kevin Costner


Sean Connery


And the rest.

After the long and lonely night drive from Las Vegas to Los Angeles we were greeted by yet another bright and sunny day. We decided to head up to Hollywood to see what we could see.


What is there to really say about Hollywood? It's a normal city like any other yet everyone who has never been there seems to thinks it must be a paridise full of beautiful people and movie stars. Well, it sort of is but it is actually quite boring too.


Grauman's Chinese Theatre, seen in the photos here, is a good example. There is an immense amount of movie, and therefore cultural, history saved forever in the hard concrete in the forecourt. Charlie Chaplin, Joan Crawford, Shirley Temple, Judy Garland, Bob Hope, Gene Autry, Dick Van Dyke, George Burns, Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, and Robin Williams just to name a few.


But after looking for minute or two what do you do, talk to one of the out of work actors dressed up like Batman or Jack Sparrow for tourist's photos?

The family visit done, we raced back to Los Angeles one evening with only a few more days left. With the main driving portion of our trip done we had Hollywood, the beaches, and some fine dining left to accomplish.


We passed through Vegas at night and took a few final shots of the lights.

One of the main thing my fiancee' was looking forward to doing while in America was to shoot a gun. In the aftermath of the 1992 LA Riots my dad decided to get some for "home protection" and he bought three hand guns, a 9mm, a 38, and a little 22. They are fun guns to shoot but, like most hand guns in America I assume, they live in boxes in the garage, used maybe once or twice a year - not exactly ready for home protection. Anyway, one day while in St George we went out and shot them. My fiancee' thought it was really cool and is interested in shooting more when we move back to California.


Europeans are intrigued with American's infatuation with guns. It is difficult for them (and me) to understand why we cling to our guns dispite things like Columbine, Virginia Tech, and the Joe Horn shooting when there is overwhelming evidence that gun ownership leads to deaths. Hell, some Americans like the rocker Ted Nugent go as far to say we have a problem because we do not have ENOUGH guns! Talk about living in a country of fear - if you don't own a gun someone might shoot you. Lobby groups like the National Rifle Association press Politicians in believing that owning a gun is an American's God given right. Strange.


Speaking of God given rights and America I have to comment on the trend in America where people say that God is on our side. That America's wars are God's wars. That what America does it does to please God. There must have been two more Commandments given to Moses that were left off the original list because of how confusing they were back then. "11 - American's shall have the right to own as many guns as they please" and "12 - America is the blessed land, yeh, their wars shall be my wars, their cause shall be my cause and they will be just." Moses must have been like "Okay, one through ten are cool but what the fuck is a gun and who are these "American's" God keeps talking about. Whatever, lets just stick with one through ten and see how that works out."

Strangley the Mormons, a Utah institution, have this all figured out. Jesus actually visited America back when he was big because he knew the people in the Middle East, Europe and Africa would screw his religion up and that he could only count on Americans to do it right. God bless America!

St George, where my family lives, is quite nice and is mostly a retirement area so the pace of life is slow (or so I am told by my younger family and friends who live there). The city hosts the Senior Games every year for example. But it is a growing area and close to Las Vegas so things might eventually change.


For example, they have Eastern Europeans working in some of the restaurants now. On the morning we drove to Bryce Canyon we ate breakfast at a nice little diner and met an exceedingly cheerful "Russia" woman. When I asked her where exactly she was from in "Russia" she finally said Belaruss and said that most people don't know where that is so it is easier just to say Russia! Silly Americans, no wonder Condi got George and the rest of the gang world maps for Christmas! My fiancee' said she knew the girl was from Belaruss/Russia because of the ultra blue eye make-up she was wearing. It is just the stereotype but sometimes they are true!


St George also has one of the best TJ Max stores anywhere. We spent about three hours getting bags, shoes, shirts, perfume and even a napkin holder. We dropped about four hundred dollars there but saved another four hundred because in Poland brands like Polo, Tommy Hilfinger, and Ralph Lauren are super expensive. We sold many of the things we got on the Polish version of eBay, Allegro.

From the Valley of Fire we drove into Utah where my father and step-family live. It was nice to see everyone again and my fiancee' was happy to meet my family. We were also lucky enough to meet up with my best friend and his family as well.


We were there for only a few days (it was a whirlwind tour all around) but we did some memorable things. There was plenty of good food and family and friends but we also got to see some wonderful nature, do some shopping, and shoot guns!


The pictures here are from Bryce Canyon National Park. It was a bit of a drive but it's a very nice NP. We were amazed to see snow on the ground but it's actually pretty high, 8800 feet is about 2680 meters!

Something that people often overlook is that the desert is full of life. Dispite its barren look it is full of plants and animals. We were fortunate to see two super examples on this trip. First was a massive desert turtule we saw crossing the street near Blythe, California, while the second was this large lizard. Not quite Godzilla but he was at least a foot long (about thirty centimeters). We saw lots of smaller lizards and a host of birds and fish too. Over the years I have been going into the desert I have seen loads of snakes, coyotes, and a few deers, plus two tarantulas and dozens of black widows!

After Vegas and on our way to Utah we stopped by at the Valley of Fire State Park. I had never been there before and was suprised at how beautiful the area was.


Like all of the other deserts there was simply nothing. But it was amazing to see.


There are wonderful red rock formations that date back millions of years to the time when this part of North America was under the sea.


There are hiking trails that lead to more interesting sites, including an area with fossil remains, but we were on a schedule (and a bit lazy) so we just drove through, took some pictues, and headed out.

An example of why the Europeans I know are enchanted by the California desert. This is the road from Vegas to the Valley of Fire State Park.

My girlfriend and I are happy to announce our engagement! We will be wed on September 27th in Cambridge England where we met and fell in love. Okay, we have been engaged for several months now and have ulterior motives for hosting the event in Cambridge but that is completely besides the point. We will be having a small civil ceremony with only our closest friends and family followed by a bang-up Polish reception where the Vodka will flow! Plans are almost finished and we are both pretty excited.

I mention this now because when I was planning our trip to Vegas I was asked more than once about getting hitched by Elvis while in Vegas. Thank you but no!